Windows XP performance tweaking guide: Registry and Software tweaks

27 tips to improve Windows XP performance.
Comments on article "Windows XP performance tweaking guide: Registry and Software tweaks"
Name Views and CommentsDate
Larry Miller This article contains a number of serious errors.

#9. Set priority for important programs.
Under most real world conditions this is unlikely to improve performance. If this is set too high it could have serious system wide implications. Important system services might not be able to run and only a reboot will restore normal operation. At the very least this tip requires a warning.

11. Make Windows to unload DLL files after closing a program.
This will impair performance. Windows normal behavior is a carefully designed feature, not a mistake. Windows will always attempt to find some use for as much memory as possible. Unused memory is wasted memory.

XP has a complex and efficient system to recover memory used for caching when it is needed. Forcing this to occur prematurely will serve no purpose and will impair performance.

Windows designers know more about memory management than you do. XP performs best without amateurish tinkering.

This setting was made available for the use of software developers, not as a means to improve performance.

Larry Miller
Microsoft MCSA
CompTIA Network+, A+		 5/16/2008
Gary I'm a little puzzled as to how turning off the index service improves performance. This is already disabled on my pc, but I find that windows takes ages to display the start menu or contents of a folder.

Could indexing help to improve this?		 8/20/2007
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